


Rewrite the Rules

by Kaylee_Winchester



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Adorable, Danger, F/M, Fighting, Forgiveness, Hunting, Reader is just freaking awesome, Romance, Some Fluff, Tears, rescuing, slowly falling in love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-10
Updated: 2018-10-17
Packaged: 2019-06-25 13:15:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 11
Words: 10,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15641490
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kaylee_Winchester/pseuds/Kaylee_Winchester
Summary: After the boys find you hanging onto life in a wendigo’s cave, they help you recover before requesting you come on some hunts with them. You agree, thinking “what could go wrong?” But it’s then that you have to leave them. Because you find yourself breaking one of the biggest hunting rules of all time. You’re falling in love with someone.





	1. Chapter 1

I tighten my grip on the blowtorch, stepping lightly through the swampy cave in pursuit of a windego. The monster had been picking off families that were camping in the area and I — being a hunter — had decided that I should try to tackle it on my own. I’d never been hunting on my own, but now that my dad was gone I would have to. 

My dad was a great man. He hunted for the reward in the form of gratitude of the people he saved. He never gave up on a hunt. He tried and tried until he conquered it. 

When I was ten, he took me on a simple ghost hunt that turned bad near the end. The ghost tried to kill me while I was scouting the area with dad. It locked me in a room with no windows, and proceeded to torture me to the point where a normal person would be cowering and screaming their throat out. Dad always said I had nerves of steel. He said I had the mind of a top-shelf hunter and the body of a kid. And at that time, it was handy. 

I had fought the ghost’s attempts to break me, and had ended up lighting the house on fire in the process by hitting a decorative side table into the open fireplace. The ghosts “anchor” must have been in the house, because as it burned to the ground I swore I saw a figure burst into flames before fading into nothing as my dad carried me from the building. 

After that, I had decided to dedicate my life to saving people from these horrible creatures. I knew that was an easy one. That there was much worse monsters out there. But I was ready. 

Now — fifteen years later — I find myself in pursuit of one of the nastiest things to walk the earth — or at least that’s what I think. 

I stumble over something and trip, landing in a puddle of what I hope is water. I flip on my flashlight to see what I fell over and I feel my stomach drop as a human skull is illuminated by the light. I turn the beam down to the puddle and realize that it is not water. It’s blood. 

“Damn you, freak.” I hiss, getting back up and wiping the sticky blood off onto my jeans. I pick up my blowtorch and flashlight before heading deeper into the cave. 

After a few minutes of walking I hear an inhuman snarl behind me. I stop in my tracks. All of my muscles tense up as I feel hot breath on the back of my neck. But before I can doubt myself I whip around and fry the thing’s face with the blowtorch. It screeches in pain and stumbles back. It’s long, clawed fingers slash at empty air as it blindly attacks. I dive away and spin around to deal the killing blow, but as I turn, the torch is knocked out of my hands. It lands with a clatter twenty feet away, flying harmlessly over the beasts shoulder. I draw in a deep breath and yank my gun from the waistband of my pants, emptying a round into the outstretched hands groping in the dark for my neck. They recoil with a scream and I scramble away in a pathetic attempt to retrieve my blowtorch. But the monster stands between the torch and me, completely blocking my path. It seems to somewhat recover from the multiple bullet wounds, as it lunges at me again. But this time I am too slow. I move to dodge, but a feel a claw dig into the back of my neck, scraping bone. 

“AGH!” I scream, feeling a second hand grab my right forearm. I kick out at it, but I miss each time. I feel a rope being tied roughly around my wrists, bounding them above my head and tying them to something on the ceiling. 

Then it retreats. 

Silence falls, broken only by my grunts of pain as I swing my body around, trying to dislodge the rope or cut it on something. Anything. But it doesn’t. 

Hours pass of my pointless struggling and I begin to feel walls breaking down in my mind. My “nerves of steel” have been broken. A thousand thoughts rush through my head as I am left to wonder when I’ll be killed. 

I hear screams. Yells. Splashing. Hurried, panicked footsteps. Someone begging for mercy. 

The. The monster walks into my view, dragging two young people by their wrists — which are bound like mine. They must be a couple. The woman clings to the man, as tears stream down both of their faces. She screams for her husband as the clawed hands tie her up next to me. She’s just a couple feet away. But I stay still and silent, not wanting to draw attention to myself. 

“HALE!” She wails, her dark hair falling in her face as she screams. 

“ALICE! ALICE, IT’LL BE OKAY! I LOVE YOU! IT’LL BE OKAY!” 

The man screams back at her as the wendigo drags him to the other side of the cave. I hear his screams grow in volume and horror as the wendigo advances on him. Seconds later I turn my face away, hearing the sounds of the man being devoured by the beast. The woman beside me screams so loud I wonder how it’s possible. The man’s strangled screams fade away into whimpers until they stop altogether. 

“Hale...” the woman sobs after the beast leaves again. 

“Hey,” I whisper, wondering if she’s noticed me yet. She apparently hasn’t, because she jumps and cowers away at the sound of my voice. “Hey, no, it’s okay. I’m here to help. Well, I kinda suck at it. But, I’m here.” 

What the hell do you say to someone who just watched their husband get eaten?

“Who-who are you?” She stutters, obviously still crying. 

“I’m Autumn.” I whisper, remembering my dad explaining to me that he named me after the most beautiful time of the year. 

“I’m Alice... are we going to be killed like Hale?” She whimpers. 

Though I can’t see her very well in the dark, I know she is stunned. Of course this would be a bit much to take in. 

“No, you’re not going to die.” I reassure her, praying that it isn’t a lie. 

But it is. 

A few hours later, night falls. The cave grows even darker and I hear Alice’s breathing slow as she drifts off to sleep. I wish I could sleep. But given the fact that I could be murdered at any second, I stay awake and alert.

The wendigo hasn’t been in the cave since it ate Hale. And I find myself panicking when I realize it will be coming back for a meal soon. 

I’m right. 

At about noon of my second day held captive, the beast returns and snatched Alice. I find myself holding back screams as she cries out my name and begs me to save her until her last breath. I can’t stand it. I’m going crazy. 

Another day passes and my mouth grows unbearably dry. My stomach growls loudly and jolts of pain shoot through me as my body demands the food and water that I can’t give it. I am just about to close my eyes for what I am really thinking might be the last time, when I hear it. 

Voices. Yelling. But not scared voices. These are confident voices. They know what they’re dealing with. They’re hunters. 

Seconds later, I hear the inhuman roar of the wendigo as if launches into battle with the hunters. My mind goes hazy a couple times, but I think I hear the sound of a blowtorch just before a strange scream. They must have killed it! 

“Dean, wait! What if it has people in there?”

The other voice — Dean — answers quickly. “Okay, but we need to hurry. I hate these caves.”

I hear splashes growing closer and I see the outline of two men appear in the shadows. I try to call out to them but I find myself too weak to do so. Instead, I give a small grunt and lift my head an inch or so off my shoulder. 

“My, God. Over there! She’s alive!” Dean gasps. 

I hear splashing as the two of them run through the swampy cave towards me. A warm hand touches my cheek and I close my eyes, a wave of relief coming over me. I am saved. I’ll live to go on another hunt. 

“She’s tied up.” The taller man points up to my hands before moving to untie them. Every time he bumps my arm a jolt of pain runs down it. I suppose that’s from having them held above my head for nearly two days. 

The rope around my wrists comes loose and he lowers my arms gently, seeing the pain in my face. My legs give out and he scoops me up in his arms and follows Dean out of the cave. I pass out just after we come out into the first sunlight I’ve seen in almost 48 hours, a sense of calm washing over me just before my eyes fall closed.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I work alone!”

I open my eyes and find myself laying in the back seat of a very well kept car. Turning my head slightly, I look to the front seat and see the two men from earlier. Dean drives with a focused look on his face while the other one seems to be reading something in his lap. 

I slowly sit up and peek over his shoulder to see a newspaper. A bolded title catches my eye. 

THREE COUPLES MISSING AND PRESUMED DEAD. REMAINS FOUND IN STATE PARK CAVE.   
State park officers found the remains of three missing couples in a cave located in the “Tall Pines Nature Reserve and Campground.” Officers say they have identified all of the remains and confirmed that they indeed were the missing people. It appears the victims were kidnapped and bound to the cave ceiling before being brutally torn apart. Crime investigators are working to put a name on this criminal as we speak. Updates will be published as they are received. We kindly ask for prayers for the victims’ families and for anybody with any information to step forward immediately. 

I finish reading and scan the rest of the paper, my eyes sliding over the rest of the uninteresting news. It is a few seconds later when I realize that all eyes are on me. 

“How’re you doing?” The man with the paper asks gently. I realize he is watching me. So is Dean — his eyes watching me carefully in the rear view mirror. 

“Fine, I-“ my words falter as a ripple of pain goes through my back. I convulse, falling onto the floor of the car. 

“Sam! What’s goin on back there?” Dean yells, correcting the car as it swerves into another lane in all the confusion. 

“I don’t know, stop the car!” The other man — Sam — opens his door and jumps out, reentering through the back door and pulling me up off the floor and into his lap. 

“My back...” I whimper as the fit comes to an end. Now I can feel the strange tingling sensation in the small of my back. Something isn’t right. 

“Okay, can I look at it?” Sam asks calmly, looking into my face for any signs of increasing pain as he turns me so I am sitting in his lap with my back to him.

He runs a hand down my spine and I yelp and flinch away as his fingertips graze the strange-feeling spot. I feel him carefully lift my shirt up a few inches to see what had hurt me. He takes in a sharp breath and I immediately know that it’s bad. 

“What?” Dean barks, twisted around in the front seat in an attempt to see what’s going on. 

“I... Dean. Call Cas.”

I raise my eyes from the floor to see Dean lift his face towards the sky. He mouths a few words with a concentrated expression and pauses, waiting. I don’t have to wonder for long before I see who Cas is. He appears in a flutter of wings. He’s obviously an angel. 

“What happened?” He asks, walking up to the door Sam left open. He bends down and peers inside the car, his electric blue eyes falling on me. 

“Wendigo. Messed up her spine, it’s not good.” Sam states before picking me up like I weigh nothing. 

I gasp and quickly wrap my hands around his neck as he climbs out of the car and sits down on the grass alongside the highway. I am still on his lap — which I find slightly strange. I could sit by myself perfectly fine. But he remains with his arms cradling me. A touching gesture considering my situation. 

“You want me to heal her.” Cas says, crouching down beside us. 

I hear a door slam and my head snaps around. My hunting instincts forcing me to note every situation. But I see that it’s just Dean, getting out of the car and walking over to see what’s going on. 

“I’m fine.” I say, finally finding my voice. I stumble to my feet and frown at the trench-coat-wearing-angel. “No offense, but every other angel I’ve met has been a total jerk. So I don’t think I need your help.”

Cas looks slightly hurt as he watches me turn to Sam. 

“And thank you for helping me. You too, Dean. But really, I’m fine. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have quite the long walk back to my truck.”

I turn my back on them, feeling their hurt stares on the back of my neck as I walk away. We have to be about three miles away from town. I can see the lights a ways off in the darkening sky. 

“Now, hold on!” Dean yells, “we just saved your ass! Now you’re gonna just walk away?”

“I work alone!” I snap, spinning around to yell back. But I spin too fast. Something crunches horribly in my back and I see stars for a split second before I hit the ground. 

I hear hurried footsteps and I see blurred outlines of people bending over me. I see a white lift flash and I assume that Cas is healing me. I try to get up and run off. I don’t want their help. I’ve already troubled them enough. The world tips nastily and I fall again, slamming my head into the asphalt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the super long wait! I’ll have the entire story updated within the day.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happened?

Voices murmur around me as I groan and open my eyes. A figure is sitting next to me, gently running their fingers through my long dark hair that is spread around my head like some strange halo. Two more figures stand off in the large doorway, talking in hushed voices. Another one stands by my feet, staring down at me. 

“What happened?” I grumble as I sit up, only to pause halfway through as stars twinkle across my vision and my head feels like it’s about to explode. Cas — the figure standing by my feet — seems to notice my pain, and he steps forward to lightly touch my forehead with two fingers. I blink up at him gratefully as the pain subsides. In a flutter of wings he disappears and I look around the room, seeking an answer to my question.”

“You tried to run off.” Dean growls from the doorway. He had been talking to an older man who wore flannel just like him and Sam. But this man also has a ball cap and a beard. 

“Yeah, I knew that.” I grumble, sitting up straighter. “Why’d you kidnap me after I passed out?!”

“Kidnap you?” Dean roars, turning on me. “We saved you! You were lying on the highway! You probably would’ve gotten hit by a car if we left you there. You’d be dead! Hell, we saved you from the wendigo! Can you just be grateful instead of biting our heads off?!”

“Well maybe I’m the type that doesn’t like being saved! I would’ve gotten out of there perfectly fine without you!”

At some point, the fingers have stopped playing with my hair. I notice this and glance over to see that it was Sam. But now he’s abandoned my hair and started glaring at Dean. 

“What?” Dean barks at him, noticing his expression. 

“Dean, what the hell. She just took the beating of a lifetime. You can’t blame her! She just hasn’t really processed everything that’s happened yet. I know I probably wouldn’t be able to wrap my head around it all yet if I were in her situation, give her a damn break!”

I feel heat rush to my cheeks. Why am I blushing? It’s not like Sam was defending me romantically or whatever. He was just stating the facts. Besides. My dad always told me that hunting and love don’t mix. Those monsters out there will target your loved ones in a heartbeat. That’s why Mom died. That’s why there’s rules now. 

“Whatever. Just, fix it or get out.” 

Dean turns his back on me and walks out. I hear a door slam and a car engine him to life. The crunch of gravel fades into silence. 

“Well, I’ll be outside. My favorite car snagged a brake line somehow. Call if you need me.” 

And with that, the older man walks outside, leaving just Sam and I in the living room. 

“I’m sorry about him.” Sam sighs, running a hand through his hair. “He’s been like this since dad died a couple months ago.”

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear. My dad died about a year ago. My mum died when I was little.”

“Yeah, my mom died when I was a baby.”

We both fall silent as the house creaks quietly around us a couple times. I hear a bang outside followed by a string of curses and I chuckle along with Sam. 

“That’s Bobby.” He says, reading the question on my face. “Family friend.”

I hum in response, fiddling with a hole in my jeans. 

“Why did you guys save me?”

Sam gazed at me, his expression thoughtful. “I don’t know, it’s just kinda what we do. Saving people, hunting things, the family business.”

“Oh. I usually work alone. At least since my dad died. I guess I never thought I’d need saving. I always saw myself as that one badass chick hunter.... but now I don’t know.” 

Sam laughs. “You are a badass chick hunter. But even the best need help sometimes.”

I sigh, but I can’t push away the slight smile his words bring me. 

“Hey, I was wondering. Do you want to... I mean, you don’t have to. But I was just curious if you’d want to go to... I don’t know... amoviewithme...” 

He says the last jumble of words so quickly that I frown and lean in a bit closer. 

“Sorry, didn’t catch that?”

“Would you... like to go to a movie... with me...” he says slowly, his face turning bright red. 

“Oh, um...” I pause, hearing my fathers voice echoing in my head. 

“Remember, my dear, you must never let your heart make you vulnerable while you’re a hunter. We’ve both learned this. Love and hunting do not mix”

An image of the moment flashes in my mind. My father and I are standing by a tall pile of sticks. I am about four years old. On the pile of sticks is my dead mother, wrapped tightly in a blanket and lying among the flames. 

“Y/n?” Sam says cautiously, snapping me back to the present. 

“Oh! Yeah, I’ll come!” I smile cheerfully. One little movie won’t hurt. It’s not like we’re dating or anything. I’m not falling head over heels for him. Even after I mentally convince myself he’s not asking me out, that it’s just a friend thing, that one memory is playing itself in the back of my mind on repeat. Reminding me of the consequences of falling in love as a hunter. In that moment, I swear to myself that I won’t fall for this man, or any other men that try to steal my heart. 

“Would you like to go now? Or later? I don’t really mind.” Sam stutters, his eyes darting around nervously. 

“We can go later tonight.” I say with a smile. He answers with a grin before running off to help Bobby with the car. I am left smiling like an idiot despite my promise I made only seconds ago. This is going to be a hard one to keep.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Quite the first date...

I meet Sam outside later that night. He leans against the impala, looking around anxiously. When his eyes fall on me his face lights up. 

“You clean up nice.” I smile as I approach him. 

He returns the smile as I take in his dark blue button down shirt. He is wearing nice jeans and it looks like he tried to clean some of the dirt off of his boots. His damp hair hints that he also took a shower — which explains the slight smell of soap. 

“So do you.” 

He opens the passenger door for me and I climb in, doubting his reply. I am wearing the exact same outfit as the one he found me in. Except it is clean now, and I also took a shower. 

The door falls shut beside me and I sit in a heavy silence for a few seconds as he walks around the car and gets in on the other side. He turns the key and the car roars to life. 

“I love this car,” I breathe, running my hand down the dash and feeling the strong engine rumbling through the seats. 

“Yeah, it used to be our dad’s.”

“Ah.”

We arrive at the movies to see an apology sign posted in front of the doors. 

“Sorry, we’re closed for repairs.” I read, and I hear Sam sigh annoyedly behind me. Then I hear the heavy beat of music not far off, and I turn my head to see a bar not too far down the street. “Wanna go there instead?”

“Sure,” Sam shrugs and follows me as I walk briskly towards the building. I open the door and a bell jingles, but I can barely hear it over the thumping of the music. 

“This seems less like a bar and more of a club.” Sam shouts to me over the obnoxious noise. 

“The louder, the funner!” I yell back, seeing a dance floor across the room. I run over and join the group of people jumping around and yelling drunkenly. I raise my hands above my head and close my eyes, moving my body with the beat. Sam watches with an amused grin on his face before turning and walking over to a barstool and taking a seat. 

“Mind if I dance?” A man asks, touching my shoulder lightly. 

I open my eyes and see a pair of brown eyes staring into mine. The man is good looking, I can say that much. He has dark — almost black — hair that is shaggy, falling almost to his eyebrows, and he is a bit taller than me. The corners of his mouth curl into a smile as I nod and he places one hand on my hip and takes my hand in the other. We both dance, grinning and laughing as he spins me around. 

“What’s your name?” I ask after the second song.

“Kyle.” He says with a smile. “You?”

“Autumn.”

“Beautiful name for a beautiful girl.”

The sentence jolts me and my mind flashes back to my father telling me to keep my heart locked away safe. I smile to the Kyle, but assure myself at the same time that nothing will happen. Ever. With anyone. 

“Wanna go get some drinks?” He asks, taking my hand in his. The winnings smile he gives me forces me to nod and follow him to the bar. I glance around for Sam but I don’t see him anywhere. Maybe he’s in the bathroom or something? 

“What we gettin’?” I ask as we take our seats at the bar. 

“Just some shots,” he grins again and I smile back. His eyes sparkle with a mischievous look that I find myself starting to adore as he orders us both a couple shots each. “Okay. Here’s what we’re gonna do. Every time we guess something right about the other person, they have to take a shot. Okay?”

“Okay!” I say, excitement filling me as I scan him, searching for my first guess. “You’re a country boy.” I chuckle, seeing his cowboy boots. 

“That is correct, my lady.” He grins and throws back his head to down the shot in one. “Can’t stand living in the city. No freedom.”

He looks me up and down carefully. 

“You’re also country.” He says finally, his eyes going over my plaid and coming to rest on my muddy boots. 

My stomach jolts when I notice this and I pray he didn’t see anyblood I might have missed on them from the wendigo. But he seems unfazed, so I nod happily and down my first shot. My head buzzes a bit but I shake it away and search for my next guess. 

“You went to college?” 

“Yep. How’d you know that one, though?”

I point to his ball cap. 

“Huston university.”

He smirks at me. “Clever girl.”

After he takes a second shot, he seems to sway a bit in his seat, but he continues to study me carefully. 

“You... don’t have a boyfriend.”

“Nope!” I giggle, my head filling with a swaying feeling as I down a second shot. 

“You don’t have a girlfriend!” I yell, my words slurring. In the back of my mind I begin to regret what I’m doing. I know how alcohol affects me. A little goes a long ways. 

“Right again!” Kyle roars, banging his fist on the counter. Another tiny cup slides over to him and he downs it again. “You came here alone!” He guesses, his words also slurring.

I have to stop and think. Did I come here alone? I think so...

“Correct!” I growl after a long pause of struggles thinking. “So did you.”

“Yep.”

We both down another shot and I notice the room swaying a bit around the edges of my vision. This is some strong stuff we’re drinking. 

“You wanna have some fun?” A dark voice rasps behind me. 

I spin in my chair gleefully and see a man in a leather jacket and a cowboy hat. A thud behind me tells me that Kyle just passed out. But I quickly say yes to the stranger, my drunk mind not thinking twice about it. He takes my hand roughly and leads me outside and I skip along behind him as we walk into an abandoned alleyway. The pounding music of the club/bar fades a bit as the door falls shut behind us. 

“You’re awful pretty to be here alone.” The man rasps, getting very close to me as we round the corner into the dark alley. 

“Why, thank you!” I giggle, hearing my words slur so much I’m almost impossible to understand. 

Then it happens. 

The man lunges at me, pinning me against the brick wall of the bar. One hand covers my mouth as I gasp and the other goes to my chest. He gropes me as I struggle to push him off, tiny whimpers escaping my lips. I move as fast as my drugged body allows, bringing my knee up hard between his legs. The man grunts in pain and his grasp on me weakens for a moment. But that’s enough. I stumble away from him, screaming bloody murder for just a few seconds before his fist meets the side of my head and I crumple. 

Time slows down 

“SAM!” I wail as I fall in slow motion. Wait. Sam? Who’s Sam? Why am I-

I pass out before I even hit the ground.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A horrible outing

I am dimly aware of something heavy on top of me. I am lying on cold, hard ground. And something — someone is on top of me. 

I open my eyes to see the leather jacket man rocking back and forth on me and I scream. I scramble away from him, realizing that my jeans are pulled down and my panties are pushed aside, revealing everything. I hastily pull up my jeans as I back away, still screaming. The man stands up and rushes towards me with his hands outstretched. 

“Shit! Shut up!” He hisses, his hands covering my mouth and grabbing my wrists as I swing at him. 

“Sam! SAM!”

 

~•~ SAM’S POV ~•~

 

I sit at the bar and ask for a beer. The bartender quickly brings me one and I take a swig. I look over my shoulder to see Autumn dancing happily. She looks so beautiful when she smiles. I see a man touch her shoulder and I stiffen, ready to come to her aid and beat the strange one away. But to my surprise, she nods and he takes her hand. They both dance for a while and I eventually turn away. 

“Sam?” A girl next to me says, her voice filled with shock. 

“Tiffany?” I gasp, recognizing her from college. “Hey! How’s it going?”

“Horrible!” She huffs, taming a long drink from her glass. “Finals are coming up and everyone is stretched to the breaking point.”

“Damn.”

“Yeah. Hey, can you help me with something on my computer? I know this is kind of your night off or whatever, since you’re here, but I have no clue how to fix it.”

I nod and we both grab our drinks and head out to the parking lot towards her car. She opens the back door and pulls out a laptop, setting it on the roof of the car. 

“I can’t get the damn thing to open my email.” She growls, clicking away and typing in a password until she reaches a notification telling her that the program cannot be accessed. 

“Oh, that’s an easy fix.” I step forward and begin working carefully, working my way through the computer’s complaints. About ten minutes later I step back and then the laptop back to her. 

“Thank you so much!” She squeals, hopping up and down. She gives me a quick hug and grabs up the computer. “I’m gonna head home.”

“Good idea if you’ve got finals.”

“Yeah. It was nice to see you, Sam.”

“You too.” I wave as she gets in the car and drives away. I stand for a moment, enjoying the peaceful night before I begin to walk inside. My fingers just touch the handle of the door when I hear a bloodcurdling scream. My stomach drops and I know my face went pale due to the concerned look the bartender gives me through the doorway. 

“You okay, big guy?” He questions, leaning over the counter to see me better. But I’m already gone. 

I sprint towards the source of the sound, not caring when I run straight through a puddle in the crappy parking lot. 

“Sam! SAM!” Autumn screams, her voice thick with fear. 

“AUTUMN!” I yell, pushing myself to run faster. I round the corner to the alleyway and find a man pushing her up against the wall, his eyes filled with lust. 

“GET THE HELL AWAY FROM HER!”

I slide to a stop and swing at the man, knocking him against the wall. His head hits the brick with a satisfying crunch as I scoop Autumn up in my arms and run. As I reach the car, she mumbles something just before she breaks down in tears. 

“Thank you,”


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tears. Just tears.

~•~ AUTUMN’S POV ~•~

Hot tears stream down my face as Sam drives us back to Bobby’s as fast as he can. I sit in the passenger seat, curled up into a shaking ball. 

“What happened?” Bobby says, worry dripping into his voice when he sees my face. 

Sam doesn’t answer, but he instead parks the car and gets out. He walks around to the passenger side and opens the door to pick me up. I am grateful for the action. I nestle into his safe arms as he carries me inside and upstairs. He lays me down on a bed in a guest room that smells strongly of him. So I guess it’s where he sleeps when he’s here. 

He doesn’t say anything, he just sits beside me as I begin to wail like a wounded animal. He takes my hand and traces little circles over it with his thumb until I calm down enough to talk. 

“What happened?” He asks quietly. 

I sniff a couple times and wipe my eyes before I look up at him. I don’t see anything I thought I would see in his face: worry, fear, anger. Instead I see the man who came and didn’t ask any questions. He just helped me when I needed it most. So I decide to answer his one question. 

“I was dancing with this guy, Kyle.” I start, my voice shaking slightly. But Sam doesn’t seem to mind, so he just nods slowly and I continue. “We decided to go get some drinks and we had a few too many. Then this other guy came up and asked me something. I can’t really remember what he said, but I followed him outside and-“

I find myself unable to go on due to the sobs racking through my body. Sam doesn’t say anything. But he instead picks me up and pulls me over to him gently. I allow him, and I find myself curled up against his chest and he wraps his arms around me. Holding me. Protecting me. 

“I’m sorry.” I whisper against his shoulder. 

“For what? You did nothing wrong.” He whispers back. 

“I’m pathetic.”

“You are nowhere near pathetic.” He looks down at me with a frown on his face. “You are the strongest girl I’ve ever met. When the wendigo captured you, you still found it in you to keep pushing. To stay alive. When that guy did whatever he did to you, you fought back. No normal girl would be able to do those things.”

“You’re saying I’m a freak?” 

“I’m saying you’re amazing, special, and tough as a nail.”

I smile through tears. 

“Do you want me to call Cas? He might be able to help you with whatever happened.”

“Yeah,” I say after a hiccup. 

Sam gently lays me down on the bed and leaves the room, shutting the door softly behind him. A few seconds later I hear wings and I turn my head to see Castiel standing at the foot of the bed. 

“Sam tells me something happened.” He says, fixing his curious gaze on me. 

“I... I got...”

My throat clenches up as I blink back a fresh wave of tears. But Cas seems to understand. He walks over to the side of the bed and places a hand on my forehead. 

“You will not carry the child of the man who did unspeakable things to you.”

“Thank you, Castiel.” I whisper. My muscles all seem to relax at once and I give a huge sigh as my eyelids droop. 

“Would you like me to give you a dreamless sleep?”

“That would be nice.”

The last thing I see before I drift off is the angel’s silhouette as he touches my forehead again. I hear the faint flutter of wings just before I slip away into the comforting abyss. 

 

~•~ SAM’S POV ~•~

 

I hear the flutter of wings that tells me of Cas’s departure. I open the bedroom door again and poke my head in to see Autumn fast asleep. Her red hair falls over her face, shifting slightly as she breathes deeply. I watch her for a few minutes, thinking of everything she must have been through. She really is — by far — stronger than one would think.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dreams

~•~ SAM’S POV ~•~

I open my eyes to sunlight streaming through the windows of Bobby’s living room. Dean is on the floor beside me on the couch and Bobby is slumped over at his desk. Both are fast asleep. 

Then I hear something. A whimper. 

I slowly sit up and scan the room, looking around for the source of the noise. I hear it again. It sounds different. 

He couch creaks softly as I climb off the couch and follow the sound. It leads me upstairs and to the closed door of the guest bedroom. I push open the door to see Autumn lying in the bed. But something is off. She’s tense. Curled up into a submissive ball. 

“Noooooo...” she whimpers, crying out quietly. 

I stand in the doorway and watch. Frozen. What do I do?

Then her cries grow in volume until she’s screaming in agony. The sound sends chills down my spine and I run across the room, my hands hovering over her shoulders. Should I wake her? Wouldn’t she panic if I did? 

“LEAVE HER ALONE-“

Dean bursts into the room with his gun raised. But he pauses mid-sentence as his eyes fall on me. 

“...Sam? What the hell is going on?!”

“I don’t know! I just heard her and came up to check on her and she was whimpering and crying!”

Dean swiftly crosses the room and joins me at her bedside. 

“Should we wake her up?” He asks, staring worriedly at her as she begins to thrash wildly. 

“I didn’t want her to panic but I don’t think that can get any worse,” I sign, scratching the back of my neck. 

Dean doesn’t waste any time. He grabs her shoulders and shakes her roughly. In a flash, Autumn’s hand darts under her pillow and pulls out a knife. We both yelp and back away as she leaps up in her bed. She crouches in an almost catlike manner and her eyes focus on Dean, and then me. But I can tell something is wrong. She must still be dreaming. She thinks we’re the enemies. Her eyes are open and she’s alert. But she’s still fighting for her life in her nightmare. 

“Never mind! Panicking can get worse!” I gasp, seeing her eyes unfocused and terrified. 

She makes a sound close to a growl and slowly advances on us. We back away and she jumps lightly off the bed and adjusts her grip on the small but deadly knife in her hand. Every muscle in her body is tense with fear as her head turns back and forth to keep an eye on us both. Then she moves. 

Leaping forward, she swings the blade at Dean’s face. He leans back quickly and dodges it before lunging for her. His hand grasps her left wrist but she hacks at it with the knife and he lets go immediately, clutching his bloodied hand to his chest with a look of shock on his face. She takes advantage of this with another swipe at his chest. He dodges, but not fast enough. The knife grazes the front of his T-shirt and leaves a thin red line in its wake. 

“Sammy! A little help?!” Dean barks as he gives up on trying to be defensive and throws a punch that she easily dodges. 

“Oh,”

I throw myself at Autumn and she twists in my arms to swing at me. Her small fist slams into the side of my head and stars twinkle in my line of sight for a few seconds. In those few seconds, she has escaped my hold and swept Dean off his feet. Literally. While he’s down she kicks him in the head and knocks him out. 

“AUTUMN!” I yell, fearing how easily she overthrew him. “WAKE UP!”

She swings around to face me. Her wild expression catches me off guard and the blade flashes evilly just millimeters from my throat. She stops. She blinks. Her hazel eyes seem to come into focus and her face turns from infuriated to confused to terrified faster than a traffic light. 

“Oh my God.” She breathes, dropping the knife with a clatter. Her knees give out and she falls beside the knife, staring at Dean. “Did I...?”

“It’s okay. It was just a dream. You’re okay now.” I sit down beside her and she breaks down. She falls into me as she shakes with sobs. “He’s fine. You’re okay... you’re okay...”

“I’m... I’m so... so sorry.” She wails into my shirt. 

Dean grunts and sits up, rubbing his jaw with a pained expression. He sees Autumn crying and his gaze softens a bit. 

“Hey,”

She sniffs and raises her head to look at him over her shoulder. 

“I know this isn’t the best time to say this, but you’re a total badass.”

He grins at her as she gives a choked laugh. 

“Seriously! How did you do that?! You’re so small!”

“Yeah,” I butt in, looking back at her to see her face lighting up with amusement. “How in the world can something so small be so freaking strong?”

“I panicked, I’m sorry.” Her face returns to it’s sad scowl and she turns away. 

“It’s alright.” I lift her chin up but she averts her eyes quickly. “Would you like to talk about it?”

She shakes her head violently and I push the burning question out of my mind for now. 

“Well, would you like to go back to sleep? I’ll stay with you the whole time if you like. I’ll fight off every nightmare that shows its ugly face.”

She nods and snuggles up against me to close her eyes. Dean sighs and leaves, lightly touching the already-forming bruise on his jaw. 

“How are you going to fight off the nightmares?” She finally says, breaking the heavy silence. 

“With this knife of course,” I pick up the knife from where she dropped it and I toss it into the air. It spins and lands back in my palm. I chuckle and so does she. 

A few minutes later her breathing slows as she falls asleep. I lean my head back against the wall and close my eyes. At some point I drift off with my arms resting around her shoulders and her back against my chest. I can feel her heartbeat sync with mine just before I drift off.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Deamons

~•~ AUTUMN’S POV ~•~

I groan and stretch before I open my eyes. I remember falling asleep against Sam after I freaked out with my nightmare, but I didn’t think I hurt myself. Apparently I had. 

A gash on my left thigh oozes blood into my already soaked jeans. I sit up and frown at the cut. When did that happen? I must have accidentally cut myself when I was going crazy with the knife. 

Sam stores beneath me and he raises his head off his shoulder to look at me. 

“You okay?” He asks. I must have a pained expression because he looks concerned. 

“Yeah, just a cut.”

I stand up and flex my shoulders, trying to work the soreness out of them. I slowly walk out of the room and down the hall to the tiny bathroom. There, I sit down on the counter and tear at the rip in my jeans from the cut, pulling the fabric away from it so I can get a better look. Sam walks in and leans against the doorway, watching as I dab the gash with a wet washcloth. 

“Let me.”

He takes the cloth from my hand and gently dabs at the blood. I give a small sigh of relief as the cool cloth hits my burning skin. 

“It might be infected.” He sighs, leaning a bit closer to further examine my leg. 

At this distance, I can clearly see his eyes. They look hazel at first glance. But here I can see little flecks of green and gold. It’s a strange color. But beautiful at the same time. 

Beautiful?! What am I thinking! Autumn! Stop thinking about him like that! He’s just a guy!

A nice guy... and cute too...

WHAT?! No! I’m a hunter!! Hunters can’t fall in love! ESPECIALLY with other hunters!

I give an involuntary gasp as Sam dabs at the cut a little too hard and he hastily apologizes. 

“I’ll be right back. Need to get some alcohol.” 

And with that, Sam rushes out of the room. I hear his distant footsteps hurrying down the stairs and then silence. I look at the cut, remembering one time on a hunt with my father, when I had gotten shot in the thigh. I had been rushed to the hospital in an ambulance and was told I was extremely lucky that the bullet missed the bone by less than half an inch. 

I ran my fingertips lightly over the scar from the bullet. A pale circle about the size of my pinkie. I smile when more memories of hunting with my father play across my mind. 

“Here.” Sam says, reentering the room with a bottle of alcohol. He pours a bit onto a new cloth and pauses to look me in the eye. “This is not gonna feel good,”

I let out a sigh and tighten my fingers around the edge of the counter as the alcohol touches the cut. Despite from the tiniest squeak, I stay silent. I let him work until he’s satisfied. Then he takes three large bandaids and lines them up along the gash, covering most of it. 

“All fixed up.” He smiles and helps me down off the counter — though I don’t need it. 

“Thanks.” I yawn, poking my head out of the bathroom and looking up and down the hall. “Where’s Dean and Bobby?”

“Still sleeping. You hungry?”

My stomach growls. 

“Hell yeah.”

We both laugh and I follow him downstairs into the small kitchen where he makes eggs and coffee. We talk about hunts we’ve been on and the most bizarre things we’ve seen. 

“You know, I once had to hunt a fairy. Dean got his butt kicked by it.” Sam exclaims with a laugh as we sit down to eat. 

“Seriously? A fairy?” I snort, almost spitting out my coffee. 

“It was one hell of a fairy!” Dean yells from the doorway. Sam and I lose it and I have just enough time to swallow my mouthful of coffee before I laugh so hard my stomach aches. 

“Dean, it was a FAIRY.” Sam says, trying to hide his grin. 

“You weren’t there when it was in action!”

“But still-“

“THAT WAS A FAIRY FROM HELL.”

“Technically...” I start, only to be sent into another fit of giggles with the look Dean gives me. Sam is also unable to contain his laughter and Dean tries to storm angrily out of the room. But we both see his smile that he just barely failed to hide. 

“What’s goin on in here?” Bobby huffs, striding into the kitchen and pouring himself a cup of coffee from the still-steaming pot on the counter. 

“Nothin.” I sigh and push away the giggles to finish my breakfast. “I’m gonna go get dressed.” 

I stand and toss my paper plate in the trash before jogging back upstairs. I push open the door to the room I slept in and look in a small mirror, running my fingers through my hair to somewhat comb it. Then I see something. A flash of darkness over my shoulder. I turn and see a dark cloud shooting towards me across the room. Then everything stills. 

The black cloud — a demon — stirs inside me. I feel my head turn and I see myself looking at my reflection. But I never told my head to turn or my eyes to look at myself. 

I pound my fists against the invisible barrier keeping me trapped in my mind. The reflection chuckles and I feel the corners of my mouth turn up in an evil smile. My head is bent down to look at an object in my palm. A knife.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Possessed

The demon uses me to walk back downstairs casually. It walks me into the kitchen where I lean against the doorway, making flirty winks and smiles towards a confused Sam. My head jerks to the side in a gesture for him to follow and I saunter out of the room. I hear Sam get up and follow me. 

“I need to speak to you outside.” The demon says through me, moving my lips to form the words I never intended to say. 

“Okay. You feeling alright? You’re acting odd.”

“Fine. I’m just... happy.”

Sam frowns for just a second before he follows me outside. The demon leads us into the shop and closes the door behind Sam. 

“Alright. Let’s cut to the chase.” The demon says, turning my soft voice to a deadly growl. The demon cackles as Sam’s face contorts in rage as he quickly realizes what’s going on. 

“Get our of her!”

“No, I quite like it in here. Autumn is a very smart girl. But not the best hunter. She never really succeeds in any of her hunts. And right now, she’s threatening me something awful right now. But they’re empty threats. They mean nothing to me. You know, Sam. Autumn has a massive crush on you. Did you know that?”

I listen in horror as the demon reveals all of my secrets to Sam. I scream for the demon to stop and I threaten it with the darkest things I can come up with. 

“She’s liked you for quite a while, Sam Winchester.” The demon continues, flicking my wrist to slam him against the wall where he strains to escape invisible bonds. “She also had a slight crush on your brother. But I think she’s grown out of that. She’s all yours Sammy. But now I’m going to kill both you and her. Maybe that’ll kick you off the map. Make you stop hunting. Which one should I do first? You... or her?” 

“You leave her alone!” Sam gasps, staring daggers at me.

“Alright. For the time being.” The demon drawls, raising the knife and stepping up to Sam. “I’ll just torture you instead. I’m sure she’ll find that just as interesting.”

And with that, the demon stabs him. I watch my hand slam the knife into his arm. He cries out in pain but falls silent a few seconds later. I scream. I’m trapped in my own body. Watching myself hurt the one person I care about more than anything. 

The demon clicks my tongue, turning away and flicking the blood off the knife. 

“Wow. She did not like that.” The demon chuckles. Sam stays silent. 

“SAM?” Dean barks off in the distance. He’s heard him scream. 

“DEAN!” Sam yells back, only to be abruptly silenced with another forced flick of my wrist. 

The door to the shop flies open as Dean and Bobby enter with guns drawn. They see Sam and then me. Their eyes slowly fall to the bloodied knife in my hand and then the wound on Sam’s arm. 

“She’s possessed.” Bobby grunts, lowering the gun under my dangerous gaze. Dean still holds his gun up with the barrel pointed straight at me. 

“Dean! Please! Don’t shoot her!” Sam grunts, seeing the gun and beginning to panic. 

“Dean. It’s not her. If you shoot, you’ll kill her.” Bobby says quietly. Dean hesitates before lowering his gun. 

“Now!” The demon grins. “This’ll be fun!”

My hand flashes up and Dean and Bobby are both pinned beside Sam. 

“Ladies and gentlemen. If I may have your attention, we’ve reached the grand finale!” The demon giggles, tossing the knife up and catching it again. “Time to kill your precious Autumn in front of you all! I am sick and tired of you hunters waltzing around and killing my all my friends! Maybe, if I kill your fellow hunters you’ll realize what kind of hell you’re putting is through!” 

The demon pauses. 

“Who am I kidding. You’re the Winchester brothers. You’re not going to stop. Oh well. Worth a shot anyway.”

My hand raises the knife to my throat and teasingly cuts a small line of red into the skin. I feel my face contort into a grin at the looks of pure horror and fury play across Sam and Dean’s faces. Bobby remains calm and concentrated, trying to think of a way out. 

“One...”

The demon slashes a deep cut into my stomach and I give a small gasp in my mind. 

“Two...” 

The knife flashes across my shoulders and I feel warm blood trickling down my stomach and arms. 

“Three strikes... you’re out.”

The third slash is directed at my throat. The blade slices through my skin and the demon quickly smokes out of me, leaving me to crumple to the ground. 

Sam, Dean and Bobby are released from their confines and all three rush at me. Sam immediately starts putting pressure on the first two cuts despite its the stab wound on his shoulder. But he can’t put much pressure on the third, because he’d choke me. I want to tell him that it’s okay. That I should’ve paid more attention and I should have noticed the demon behind me. It’s my fault. Not his. 

“CAS!” He screams as my breath catches in my throat and I weakly cough up a few drops of blood. 

“Cas, we really could use your help right about now!” Dean whispers, watching as Sam panics and begins shaking. 

“Step back, Sam.” Castiel says, appearing behind us. 

Sam does as he’s told and Cas crouches down next to me, running a finger along the gashes. A white hot pain shoots through me every time his finger grazes my skin and I grit my teeth, holding back a groan.

He fixes the first two and finally turns to my throat. I can practically feel the life slipping out of me. He pauses with a look of worry on my face and I let out another choked cough. 

“It’s deep. I don’t know if I can heal it all the way. The blade she used was cursed. She’s lucky I was able to heal the first two.”

“Just... try!” Sam urges. Dean makes a noise of agreement while Bobby just stares with a mixture of anger and sadness on his face. 

Cas sighs and runs a finger over the gash on my throat and I feel a tingling sensation where the cut was. I reach up and run my fingers over it lightly but the simple motion sends me into a dizzy spell and my hands snap to the ground as if I can still the swaying of the earth. The world seems to pulse and sway and twist until it’s a blur of colors and I am vaguely aware of someone’s arms around me before my eyes roll back and I am swallowed whole by the swaying of the universe.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I am a hunter.

I wake up with fingers prodding at my throat where the gash was. My eyes flutter open to see Castiel frowning down at me. 

“I don’t understand why I can’t fully heal this.” He says in a confused tone as he examines my neck. 

“Why? What’s wrong?” I question, feeling my stomach jolt and my heartbeat quicken as nervousness sets in on me once again. 

“It’s only healed at the surface.” He straightens up and turns his back on me. “I can’t actually fix it. I can only make it look better.”

“How bad is it?” Sam asks as he enters the room. I look up from the couch to see him standing just a few feet away. 

“If I can’t heal it, then her days are numbered. I don’t know what kind of cursed blade that was or how I was able to heal the first two cuts, but there isn’t any way I can think of to heal her.”

“It’s fine, Cas. Maybe I’ll get to see my dad a bit sooner than I thought. When I die.”

A heavy silence falls over the room and Cas quickly leaves. 

“What did the demon mean?” Sam says, finally breaking the silence. 

“Hmm?”

“The demon said you... you had a crush on me?”

My cheeks flush. I should’ve known this was going to come up at some point. 

“It was just a stupid demon. I don’t have a crush on you. Or your brother. Besides, I don’t date.”

“What’s that supposed to mean? Don’t you ever want to find your special someone or whatever?”

“Bad things happen when hunters fall in love.” I say, my voice rising slightly as I start to get defensive. “Now could you please leave me alone? I’d like to get some rest.”

“Yeah, sure.”

He leaves and I let out a huge sigh as I bury my face in a pillow. I don’t have a crush on anyone. I’m a hunter. Hunters don’t fall in love. 

“You alright?” Dean asks as he pokes his head into the room. 

“I’m fine! Please just... leave me alone!” 

Tears sting my eyes and I roll onto my back and slam a pillow down onto my face, hiding from the world. A gentle hand touches my shaking ones and lowers the pillow from my face. I open my eyes to see Dean standing over me with his brow furrowed. 

“No hunter breaks down over one demon.” He says quietly. 

“It’s not just the demon,” I sniff, turning my face away. 

“Then what is it?”

“It’s my parents, my life, my future... Sam... you...” I sniff again. “It’s literally everything that matters to me. They’re either falling apart because of me or I’m falling apart because of them. And I don’t know what to do or how to fix it! All my life I’ve been raised to fix it. Find someone to help and fix what’s wrong! But, I can’t! I don’t know, I-“

“Stop...”

I slowly close my eyes and a single tear falls down my cheek. 

“Sometimes you just need to let things fall apart. That’s the only way to fix it.” Dean says quietly, his green eyes meeting my brown ones. 

“Why does it have to fall apart?” I sniff, quickly wiping a tear away. 

“I don’t know. That’s just how it works.” 

I give him a small smile and he walks back to the door, pausing for just a moment to look back at me before he shuts it behind him. 

“I’m a hunter.” I whisper to myself, my voice cracking slightly from crying so much. “Hunters fix things. But maybe... this one time... I’ll let it fall apart first.”


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Love is all you need

My throat throbs and I am jolted awake by raises voices. 

“She’s crying in her sleep and saying it hurts! We need to do something!”

“I already healed her as much as I could.”

“Well, do it better!”

“Sam-“

“Cas!”

“Dean,”

I open my eyes and I see three figures standing around me. 

I try to talk but the second I open my mouth the small movement sends a wave of pain and nausea over me. 

“Woah, lay back down.” Dean ushers, gently pushing me back down into the bed. 

“Sam,” I croak finally, looking up into everyone’s alarmed expressions. 

“Don’t talk-“ he starts to say, but I shoot him a warning look and he falls silent with an exasperated huff. 

“Sometimes you have to let things fall apart before they get better.”

“Wait-“

“Sam, let me speak!” I try to raise my voice but I only end up coughing. But it’s not a normal cough. 

I raise my arm and cough into it but when I lower it there is a splatter of blood on my skin. 

“I’m not going to get any better if you keep trying to heal me.” 

All three of them stop their silent bickering to look down at me with mixed expressions. Shock. Anger. Rage. Sadness. 

“Just let me go. I don’t want to hurt anymore.”

“We can fix it though! We can heal you...” Sam stutters, kneeling down and putting a warm hand on my forehead. 

“I don’t want you to.” I croak, tears brimming in my eyes. “I want to be with my mom and dad again. I want this everlasting pain to be over with. I’m so thankful for everything you, Dean and Cas have done for me. But I can’t fight anymore. Everything I try to hunt reminds me of hunting with my dad. Every mean reminds me of my mom. I can’t take it anymore.”

My voice finally breaks and I am sent into another fit of coughing. More blood. I try to think of how I can tell him everything without any words. Only one thing comes to mind. But it would go against everything my father told me since my mom died. But who cares now. This is my last conversation. My last breaths. My last chance. 

I gather the rest of my strength and reach up to pull Sam down into a kiss. He is surprised at first, but he quickly welcomes my move. He wraps his arms around me and responds by pressing his lips to mine and letting just a couple tears fall. I lean back to look at them all one more time. 

Dean looks like the brother I’ve always dreamed of. Protective and proud but not too overbearing. His eyes shine as he gives me a small smile. 

Cas looks kind of like my mother did. Bursting to the seams with curiosity. Not quite caring what other people thought of them. But family being their top priority. 

Sam still kneels beside me with tears streaming down his face. He’s the person I’ve always wanted to spend the rest of my life with. I’ve been pushing aside those emotions for so long. But the dam finally broke. 

He reaches out and squeezes my hand and it’s the last thing I feel before my eyes fall shut. The last thing I see is the people I’ve found my family in. The last thing I feel is their love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the lame titles and the long wait but I hope you’re happy with how this story turned out! I know I am! Happy reading!!


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